Thursday Trenches – Oblique Strategies

I wish I could remember where I saw this. A writing blog, I think. I’m not sure. But it doesn’t hurt to spread the news. If you’re suffering from writer’s block, this could be a great tool to get you moving again.

Oblique Strategies was originally created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975. In their version, it was a stack of index cards that you would pick from. You’d get a random phrase and use that to break through the block. More info is on the above wikipedia page.

We’re living in 2014 though, and I found several versions of this app for my smartphone. I’d have to say it’s pretty handy to have at my fingertips. It can be anything from the complex to the simple. Just now tapping it a few times, I got “water”, “emphasize differences”, and “discover your formulas and abandon them.”

I’m using this one here but there are several options in the Play store. Have a look if you find yourself stuck. (Sorry apple fans, I couldn’t see a way to easily search their store from the web… If you have a link to an iOS version, feel free to post it in the comments.)

What do you use when you get stuck? Have a favorite method? Let me know in the comments.